1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of leakage current protection devices, and more particularly relates to ground-fault circuit interrupters with reverse wiring protection features.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the increasing use of household electrical appliances, more attention is paid to the safety of using such appliances. When constructing a building, people want not only to install more power outlet receptacles on the interior surface of the building, but also ensure that the power outlet receptacles can prevent power leak by utilizing a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) which can be reliably installed and safely used.
Power outlet receptacles equipped with GFCIs are generally known, and are described in, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,237,435, 4,247,840 and 4,595,894. These devices have a shortcoming in that they cannot prevent power leakage when their electrical connecting wires are reversed upon installation, which presents a real safety hazard. For example, if during installation, input wires from a power source are erroneously connected to the output connectors (LOAD) of the GFCI receptacle, and output wires going to a load are erroneously connected to the input connectors (LINE) of the GFCI receptacle, the reset button (RESET) and test button (TEST) can still be depressed as if in normal operation to break or make the connection between the input and output of the GFCI receptacle. However, the receptacle under such a condition will not function to provide ground fault protection, and moreover, will mislead the user into assuming that the receptacle is functioning properly, possibly causing personal harm to the user.